Gansbaai Reefs
Surf spot · South Africa
Is it worth the trip?
44Poor out of 100 for your dates
Best on Sun 8: 7 ft swell at 9 s, 4 hours of offshore wind, sheltered (estimated): holds up in a blow
Mon 2 · 47 out of 100
- Swell
- 6 ft8 ssoft
- Energy
- 414kJ
- Wind
- SE 7 kn
- Temp
- 18°C
Tue 3 · 40 out of 100
- Swell
- 4 ft9 ssoft
- Energy
- 301kJ
- Wind
- SE 17 kn
- Temp
- 19°C
Wed 4 · 25 out of 100
- Swell
- 4 ft9 ssoft
- Energy
- 169kJ
- Wind
- E 5 kn
- Temp
- 19°C
Thu 5 · 8 out of 100
- Swell
- 5 ft11 smushy
- Energy
- 478kJ
- Wind
- WNW 24 kn
- Temp
- 18°C
Fri 6 · 13 out of 100
- Swell
- 7 ft8 smushy
- Energy
- 543kJ
- Wind
- WNW 22 kn
- Temp
- 17°C
Sat 7 · 57 out of 100
- Swell
- 8 ft8 smushy
- Energy
- 670kJ
- Wind
- SSE 9 kn
- Temp
- 16°C
Sun 8 · 63 out of 100
- Swell
- 7 ft9 ssoft
- Energy
- 620kJ
- Wind
- ESE 20 kn
- Temp
- 18°C
Tap a day for waves, wind and the temperature. Full forecast
Forecast: next 10 days
Full forecast- Sun 162, good
- Mon 247, fair
- Tue 340, too small
- Wed 425, too small
- Thu 58, too small
- Fri 613, poor
- Sat 757, fair
- Sun 863, good
- Mon 920, too small
- Tue 103, too small
The spot in five facts
- Faces Wtakes swell from the W
- Offshore: Ewind from the land
- Intermediate +who it suits
- Works 3–11 ftof swell
- Water 18 °C2 mm shorty
Full forecast
every day, every number
The score doesn't know rips, currents, rocks or your skill.
| Day | Score for experts | Swell | Energy | Wind | Temp |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sun 1Nov | 62, good | 7 ft9 ssoft8 ft at break (est.) | 769kJ | wind from the west-south-west, 4 knots | 18°C |
| Mon 2Nov | 47, fair | 6 ft8 ssoft6 ft at break (est.) | 414kJ | offshorewind from the south-east, 7 knots, offshore | 18°C |
| Tue 3Nov | 40, too small | 4 ft9 ssoft5 ft at break (est.) | 301kJ | offshorewind from the south-east, 17 knots, offshore | 19°C |
| Wed 4Nov | 25, too small | 4 ft9 ssoft4 ft at break (est.) | 169kJ | offshorewind from the east, 5 knots, offshore | 19°C |
| Thu 5Nov | 8, too small | 5 ft11 smushy7 ft at break (est.) | 478kJ | wind from the west-north-west, 24 knots | 18°C |
| Fri 6Nov | 13, poor | 7 ft8 smushy8 ft at break (est.) | 543kJ | wind from the west-north-west, 22 knots | 17°C |
| Sat 7Nov | 57, fair | 8 ft8 smushy7 ft at break (est.) | 670kJ | wind from the south-south-east, 9 knots | 16°C |
| Sun 8Nov | 63, good | 7 ft9 ssoft6 ft at break (est.) | 620kJ | offshorewind from the east-south-east, 20 knots, offshore | 18°C |
| Mon 9Nov | 20, too small | 4 ft6 smushyunder 1 ft at break (est.) | 110kJ | offshorewind from the east, 14 knots, offshore | 20°C |
| Tue 10Nov | 3, too small | 2 ft13 smushy4 ft at break (est.) | 140kJ | wind from the west, 19 knots | 18°C |
Energy is the swell's power, in kJ per metre of wave. Wind is in knots, the arrow where it blows to; green is offshore. More
Tide
- Sun 1 NovLow 01:11 −0.4 mHigh 07:43 +0.4 mLow 14:07 −0.3 mHigh 20:23 +0.3 m
- Mon 2 NovLow 02:44 −0.3 mHigh 09:16 +0.4 mLow 16:03 −0.3 mHigh 22:07 +0.3 m
- Tue 3 NovLow 04:28 −0.3 mHigh 10:46 +0.5 mLow 17:30 −0.5 mHigh 23:32 +0.4 m
Local clock times; heights about mean sea level. On open coasts the times are usually within a quarter of an hour; in bays, estuaries and on the Gulf of Mexico they can be an hour or more out. Tide: EOT20 global ocean tide model, Hart-Davis et al. 2021, DGFI-TUM (doi:10.17882/79489), CC BY 4.0. Times and heights computed by us. A model, not a tide table: check a local table before you go.
Forecast updated . It refreshes every three hours. Forecast data: ECMWF, DWD, Météo-France and NOAA, served by Open-Meteo.com (CC BY 4.0). Changed by us. Generated using E.U. Copernicus Marine Service Information.
Map
the spot and its town
Gansbaai Reefs on Google Maps · Directions
Each place wears its best day on these dates, a surf spot for experts: green good, amber fair, pale red poor, as the key says.
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One finger scrolls the page; two fingers move the map. Pins are our own positions. Map OpenFreeMap, © OpenMapTiles, data © OpenStreetMap contributors.
More surf near here
5 places
- The Toilet (Chowpoo) 0 km away
- Stinky Pits! 0.7 km away
- De Kelders 2.5 km away
- Danger Point 7 km away
- Pearly Beach edit 17.2 km away
About
the place in full, sources, credits
About Gansbaai Reefs
Facing, offshore wind, exposure, level and swell range are estimated.
The spot faces W (279°), so it takes swell from the W. The wind blows offshore from the E (99°). It is sheltered to the open swell. It suits intermediate surfers and up. It works in 3–11 ft of swell. The sea floor shelves gently: 10 m deep about 550 m out (1 in 56). On a typical 5 ft, 11 s swell the waves here would spill softly. The sea is about 15°C in July, its coldest month (4/3 wetsuit and boots), and 20°C in January, its warmest (2 mm shorty). The town to stay in is Gansbaai, 1.1 km away (about 5 min by car). Within 5 km we also list 3 surf spots and 1 dive site.
Water about 18°C: 2 mm shorty. Typical sea temperature for the time of year, not a forecast.
The score is the conditions only: the journey, the price and the partners never change it (how we score, how we earn).
Rough cost (estimate): about US$1,300–US$2,540 each
about US$1,300–US$2,540 each · 6 nights, 2 sharing: flights, hire car, stay, food, board and wetsuit.
Our estimate from typical public prices, not a quote: check the real prices before you book (where they come from). Prices are about, in US Dollar (USD): our pound figures at the European Central Bank's rate of 30 October 2026.
How we worked it out
| What | How we worked it out | Each |
|---|---|---|
| Flights | return MDW to CPT, estimated from distance and season, changing at ATL, full-service airlines, with a hold bag | about US$858–US$1,780 |
| Hire car | 6 days, shared | about US$67–US$114 |
| Stay | 6 nights, a mid-range double, shared | about US$161–US$275 |
| Food | 7 days eating out | about US$147–US$268 |
| Board and wetsuit | 5 days, or about US$114 to fly your own | about US$67–US$107 |
| Total | about US$1,300–US$2,540 |
For 2 people sharing a room. Lessons, lift-pass deals and insurance are extra. Prices from public sources, checked in 2026.
Where to stay: 2 towns
2 min by car · 28 places to stay
about US$60/nightcountry average
About Gansbaai its beds, food and every spot near it
- Beds in Pearly Beach on Booking.com
31 min by car · 10 places to stay
About US$60 a night is our estimate of the country's average 2-star double room that month: not each town's price, and not a quote. Drives are estimates. Prices are about, in US Dollar (USD): our pound figures at the European Central Bank's rate of 30 October 2026.
Getting there: about 27h 45m
About 27h 45m door to door from Chicago
Fly MDW → CPT, changing at Hartsfield Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL), then 2h by road
Flights MDW → CPT on your dates · Skyscanner
An estimate, one way; the journey never changes the score.